


Love in the Time of War

by guardyanangel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aromantic, Asexual Awareness Fanwork, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Brothers, Gen, Sibling Bonding, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-26
Updated: 2013-10-26
Packaged: 2017-12-30 12:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1018423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guardyanangel/pseuds/guardyanangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Merlin’s pants, Bill. Just because I can’t fall in love with people doesn’t mean I’m not happy you’ve found someone, yeah?”</p><p>In which there is talk of a wedding, a war, and why love is important in both of them. Aro!Ace!Charlie Weasley and Bill being bros. Set during DH. For Asexual Awareness Week 2013.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love in the Time of War

**Author's Note:**

> As some of you may know, it's Asexual Awareness Week, and considering how according to JKR Charlie Weasley is not gay and definitely being more interested in dragons than women, there's quite a headcanon/fanon that Charlie is an aromantic asexual. So, I decided to write this little "missing scene" of sorts with that in mind.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ginny asked him, leaning against a column next to him with a Butterbeer in hand, “Everything turned out perfectly.”

“It has,” Charlie agreed, taking another sip of his firewhisky as he watched his brother and new sister-in-law dance, “Mum must be so pleased.”

“She was crying into the champagne last I saw her, but it was the good kind of crying,” his sister replied, before glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, “I’m surprised you didn’t grow your hair out again after she’d shorn it all off yesterday.”

“I was going to,” Charlie confessed, “But I talked with Bill last night. Changed my mind.”

There was more to that—of course there was—but he wasn’t about to go into details with Ginny. The conversation he’d had the night before, after all, was the sort of conversation only meant to be shared between brothers.

-*-

The only reason Charlie Weasley let his mother give him a haircut was because he knew that between the wedding and the war everyone was on their last nerve, and no one wanted to be the one to knock Molly Weasley off of hers. It was best to let her do what she wanted, or else it’d be even worse for everyone and a wedding was _meant_ to be something to be happy about.

Still, he couldn’t see the harm in growing it out a _little_ bit, which was what had him sneaking downstairs the night before the wedding. Habit had him drawing his wand the moment he realized he wasn’t alone, but once he recognized it was his brother staring absently out the window, he put it away with a brow furrowed with concern.

“Hey, Bill.”

“Hey, Charlie.” His elder brother’s smile was a weak one, “Trying to grow your hair out?”

“It was only going to be a _little_ bit,” came the automatic reply, and he was unable to help the lopsided grin before he asked, “Nervous about tomorrow?”

Bill’s snort of laughter was an astonishingly derisive one, “You’ve got no idea.”

The dragonologist opened his mouth to reply, but the elder Weasley forged ahead after a moment’s breath, “That’s what I envy about you.”

It surprised Charlie, which wasn’t a norm when it came to Bill—usually he could tell exactly what his brother meant when he said things, “Come again?”

“You’ve got no idea what it’s like,” Bill repeated, “Loving someone— _needing_ someone—like I need Fleur. I envy you that. It seems like it’d be easier.”

It took a few moments, still, before it properly sunk in what he had meant, and when it did Charlie found his heart lurching a little painfully with something almost like betrayal.

Bill was the only one of the family that he had told when he’d come to the realization that he wasn’t exactly straight. The revelation had been helped along by a Muggleborn witch, one of his coworkers, who had a better grasp on the complicated nature of human sexuality. Before the topic had come up with her, Charlie hadn’t had the words to describe the fact he apparently wasn’t able to fall in lust _nor_ in love with people. It had been terrifying, frankly, especially growing up knowing that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was also said to be incapable of love. It had been a broken part of him he thought he needed to either fix or ignore, and ignoring it by dealing with dragons had been easier than confessing his fears. It’d only been with Annabel’s help that he’d realized he _wasn’t_ broken—that there was, in fact, an entire community of people just like him. Annabel said they were called aromantic asexuals—people who didn’t feel romantic or sexual attraction to people, for all they may feel everything else.

It had been a relief to know, and eventually he’d managed to confide this secret, as he had just about every other, in his older brother. It had taken time for Bill to understand—the difficulties of explaining were, in part, why he’d hesitated to tell anyone else in the family. But eventually it seemed that his brother had managed to comprehend the concept as much as anyone like him could.

Or, at least, Charlie had thought so until this moment.

“…You’re a real numpty sometimes, you know?”

And now it was Bill’s turn to be surprised, “What do you—”

“You think this is _easier_?” Charlie continued, heedless of the half-formed query, “That’s—that’s just _stupid_ , Bill, nothing could be further from the truth.”

“But you _don’t._ You’ve _said._ You don’t fall in love with people, you don’t have to worry about _losing_ them—”

“I don’t have to _worry_?” he echoed, disbelieving, “You think I don’t have to worry? You think I don’t—what, love people enough to worry? What d’you think I do when I’m in Romania and I’m waiting to get an owl? What do you think I do when I say goodbye to the friends of mine that have gone off to go fight? I’m _always_ worried, Bill. I’m worried something will happen to them or you or Mum and Dad and Fred and George and—hell, I even worry about Harry, for all he seems to have things sorted. It’s even worse because I’m far away and I know that—any news that I’m getting is always a little bit delayed and I may be—too late do anything to help. Does that sound _easier,_ Bill? Because _I_ don’t think it is.”

The words came out sharper than he’d intended, and he could tell by the look on the other Weasley’s face that he’d hit home. Immediately a rush of guilt washed over him, and he started speaking again, the fire cooling from his words instantly, “Sorry, I just—”

“No, Charlie, _I’m_ sorry,” Bill interrupted, “I should’ve known better. Of course I didn’t mean that you don’t—love us, or that it isn’t hard, I just… No, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

A pause, before the older man continued again, “You don’t—think I’m being stupid about this, do you? About me—loving Fleur and marrying her now with—everything else going on.”

The younger brother couldn’t help the sudden, somewhat pained laugh that burst from his lips, “Merlin’s pants, Bill. Just because _I_ can’t fall in love with people doesn’t mean I’m not happy _you’ve_ found someone, yeah?”

The words had Bill almost smiling again, “Yeah?”

Charlie’s response was firm, “I _am_ happy. I think—I think it’s brilliant that you’ve managed to find someone, no matter how—mad everything is now. And I may not understand what you feel for one another, but I do know she—makes you happy in a way I’ve never seen you be happy, and I think that means you two are going to be—absolutely fantastic together.”

 “You—think it’s worth it, then? Even with the war? Even if we—well.”

 _Even if we all may die tomorrow_ rang loudly in the silence after his words, and it took the other young man a moment of sober contemplation before he could answer, “I feel like all of this would be—all the more reason to cling to what love we’ve got, mm? No matter how we feel it.”

There was a slight glimmering in Bill’s eyes as he finally lifted them to meet Charlie’s, but he covered it up with a fond punch to his younger brother’s arm, “I _knew_ you were nothing but a big softie under all that muscle.”

“No one said anything about being a softie,” Charlie protested, pretending to cradle his arm.

“You’re a total softie, talking about clinging to love while we’ve got it and whatever. I bet your speech tomorrow’s going to be just as cheesy. Maybe I should’ve let Fred be my best man instead—he’d’ve at least said something _funny_ instead of making Mum cry.”

“Mum’s going to cry _anyways,_ and I _know_ you weren’t ever thinking of letting Fred be your best man.”

Bill laughed, finally, and threw an arm around his brother’s shoulder so he could ruffle his hair, “I will if you grow out your hair again. Mum was right, you know, it _did_ look a bit ghastly.”

“As if _you’re_ one to talk.”

“I’m the one getting _married._ I’ve plenty of room to talk.”

“— _speaking_ of getting married,” Charlie said, managing to extricate himself from his brother’s grip, “Preparations for letting you do that are starting early tomorrow, so we should _probably_ go to bed so you don’t fall asleep in the middle of your own wedding.”

“Now _you_ sound like Mum,” came Bill’s reply, but he did let go and start moving towards his room.

Charlie stuck his tongue out petulantly at his brother, but did the same, deciding that he could suffer through one more day of the terribly short haircut in keeping with Bill’s request and for his mother’s sake. He paused, however, when he heard Bill addressing him once more, “Yeah?”

Bill rubbed the back of his neck, before managing a small grin at him, “I love you, y’know?”

For a moment, Charlie was tempted to let himself tease, but the way Bill’s head was turned highlighted the scars Fenrir Greyback had left across the side of his face, and quite suddenly Charlie remembered that, wedding preparations aside, they _were_ at war and it _was_ entirely possible they’d all be dead tomorrow.

So he said the words to express the sentiment he'd only ever felt for family and friends, the nickname he’d used for his elder brother in their far younger years slipping out unconsciously, “Love you, too, Billy.”

Bill flushed a bit—for all each of the Weasleys knew just how much they cared for one another, it wasn’t something they often said aloud—before turning away again, “Sleep well.”

“You, too.”

And for the first time since the war started, Charlie actually did.

-*-

“So, do you think you’ll be next?” Ginny asked him.

Charlie studied the newlyweds with a contemplative look before downing his firewhisky and shaking his head. He tugged her into an impromptu side-hug, grinning at her as he answered, “Nah. I’ve got my dragons. Dealing with them's way more interesting than dating, and way less complicated.”

Besides that—and more importantly—he had his friends and his family.

That was all the love he’d ever need.

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it! Completely unbetaed, so any mistakes are mine. I hope you enjoyed! Aro-ace!Charlie is definitely something I've been toying with for a while no, so even after AAW is done there may be more snippets like this. We'll see. :) Thanks for reading!


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